They were still driving a few hours later.
Beth sat with her back to the window, head resting against her hand, watching Daryl with a little smile. His head was hanging to the side and his left leg stretched out into the aisle, and he was slowly coming awake.
Daryl's eyes blinked open a couple times, and he looked over to see Beth smiling at him. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself." Beth grinned at him like she thought something was funny.
He eyed her smug expression and narrowed his eyes. "What are you smilin' at, Greene?" While he slept he'd slid down in his seat, and he brought his leg back to push himself up but stopped when he looked down at his lap. Buddy was sprawled across it, his front legs extended out in the air.
Daryl eyed the sleeping cat with a groan and raised his arms away from him in distaste while Beth laughed.
"I take it you're not a cat person?"
He shook his head and picked the cat up off his lap awkwardly, like he'd never held one before, and set him down on the empty seat across the aisle. "Nah. Never had one. Always wanted a dog, though. At least they're not useless. Can hunt for you and guard your shit."
Beth folded her arms and smiled at him. "That's funny. You kinda remind me of a cat, though. Independent. Self-sufficient. But you still need some attention every now and then, on your own terms, though."
He poked her gently in the side and she squirmed away with a giggle. "Did you just compare me to that bag of fleas over there?"
"Maybe." She laughed and grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers between his and settled back with a contented sigh.
Glenn walked up from behind them and eyed their joined hands with a little smirk, looking like he was aching to crack a joke but Daryl's imposing stare seemed to change his mind. He pulled something out of his pocket and passed it to Daryl. "Meant to give this to you yesterday, but with everything that went down I didn't get a chance."
Daryl took it, nodding his thanks, and Glenn returned to his seat beside Maggie.
Beth watched Daryl rip the package open with interest, and he showed her what it was. Surgical scissors. "Figured it was time to get them stitches off. And your cast."
She looked down at the bandaging on her wrist with some worry, lowering her voice. "But what about the bite mark? I don't want anyone to see…"
Daryl shook his head at her doubt. "Don't worry about that. I got it covered."
Beth looked at him, puzzled, as Rick pulled the bus into the parking lot of a shopping mall next to some cars. He turned off the ignition and looked up into the mirror above him. "We need to find some gas, and there's a grocery store in the next lot over. Hopefully, there's some food inside. We split up and make this quick."
Daryl, Beth, Glenn, Maggie and Carl all started walking across the lot toward the grocery store. Two walkers intercepted them on their way there, and Beth and Glenn both took them down quietly with their knives.
As the group approached the windows of the store front, they lowered their weapons in resignation.
There were at least three dozen walkers inside, some of them pressed up to the glass when they saw the people getting closer, others just moving lethargically in the aisles. But it didn't matter anyway. The five of them could see inside clearly, and the shelves were all picked clean.
Daryl lead them away from the store and looked around for any alternatives, but the only other businesses nearby were a Subway and a Chinese Restaurant. It was highly unlikely that either place would carry anything in the way of non-perishable product, so they turned and headed back to the bus.
They were back on the road again soon, leaving the small town and driving through a long stretch of wooded area. Daryl had insisted he take his turn driving seeing how Rick could barely keep his eyes open, and Beth sat in the seat behind him, leaning on the bar behind the driver's seat and looking through the windows around them as the scenery flashed by.
It was going on a full day since anyone had eaten, and someone's stomach growled loudly toward the back of the bus.
"Sorry." Eugene mumbled an apology, his head leaning against the window morosely. "What I wouldn't give for a big home cooked meal right about now."
No one said anything. They all seemed lost in their own thoughts, likely thinking about how hungry they were, too.
Another two hours passed. They stopped once to check the first couple of homes in a subdivision near the main road, but had to leave in a hurry with only two cans to show for their efforts when a small herd caught wind of them.
Beth turned and watched Michonne feed Judith a bit of the canned pineapple they'd found, grateful that at least she wasn't going hungry.
It was late afternoon, and Beth and Daryl had been on the lookout for a safe place to stop for the night when they drove by an accident.
A huge pickup truck, with jacked up wheels like some of Beth's friends used to take mudding, had crashed into a large green sign and knocked it over. The truck was laying on its side covering most of the board's lettering, and Beth was just barely able to make out part of one word on it as they went by, but what it was didn't register until they passed a wide paved road a short distance away that was gated off.
"Daryl, stop the bus." She turned around and looked back the way they'd come, the wheels in her head turning, wondering if she was grasping at straws.
He put the bus in park and looked up at her in the mirror, puzzled.
"Can you back up to that road there?" Beth looked at his confused expression, and she shrugged. "It's probably nothin', but it'll only take a second."
Daryl nodded and put the vehicle in reverse, slowly driving backward until they were parked in front of the road's entrance. Beth got up and swung the lever to open the doors, and Daryl's hand shot out to stop her. "I just need to run back and have another look at that sign. It's only forty feet away. I'll be okay, I promise."
He nodded reluctantly, pushing down on the hand brake, and grabbing his crossbow to stand at the bottom of the steps to wait for her.
Beth glanced at the gate and the neatly paved road before jogging back alongside the bus. She could sense the others craning their heads to watch her with interest, and hoped she wasn't making an idiot of herself going on this hunch. If she was right, though, it could be the break they needed.
Beth was slightly out of breath when she came upon the wreck, and tried to get a better look at the sign, but it was covered by some fallen branches. She carefully picked her way down the side of the ditch and grabbed one of the limbs, pulling it off and revealing more of the wording with a triumphant grin. She hooted with excitement and ran back up onto the road, covering the distance back to the bus in a near sprint.
Rick and Abraham were both waiting outside with Daryl when she returned with a huge smile on her face. In between gasps for air she explained, pointing at the road beside them. "It's the DC for Loblaws. I think we should check it out."
Beth waved her hands in the air at the blank looks they gave her, impatient that they didn't understand what it meant. "I did a project in Economics on Loblaws. They're the parent company of the SuperValu grocery chain here." She gestured emphatically at the gate. "DC means distribution centre. It's where the product ships from that goes to the stores."
Abraham's jaw dropped open at the prospect of that much food. "Jumpin' sweet Jesus, blondie. If you're right I'm plantin' a big sloppy kiss on that little head of yours." He glanced at Daryl, eying the sour look crossing the man's face and laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Hell, I might even kiss you, Dixon!"
Beth grinned and watched Rick walk over to the gate to examine the lock. He called over, "It's just a regular padlock. The bolt cutters should cut through it pretty easy."
Running up the steps in the bus, Beth dug around behind the driver's seat where they'd dumped the tools from the farm, and passed the bolt cutters down to Abraham. Daryl backed up the bus enough to turn in the road, and drove through the gate when Rick and Abe pulled each section of chain link fence open. They closed it behind them, latching it without the lock in case they needed to make a quick exit.
A half mile back from the main road Daryl slowed the bus to a stop at the entrance to the property and waited.
It appeared that the site had long since been abandoned by the living. A few pieces of garbage blew across the otherwise empty parking lot, and the only vehicle there was a lone 18 wheeler backed up to one of the eight large receiving doors. There were a few walkers coming around the corner of the building, but it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.
Daryl backed up alongside the truck to the next loading bay which had been left wide open. If there was any food left inside, it could be passed down through the door at the rear of the bus fairly easily, so he called to Abraham to swing it open before he coasted to a stop. It left just over a foot of clearance between the floor of the loading dock and the top of the bus' emergency exit.
There was a set of steps leading up to a single door at the far corner of the building, so everyone filed off the bus and headed for it.
Judith was awake in Carl's arms, and Tara trailed behind holding the cat while Daryl and Rick went up the stairs to pick the lock. Unfortunately, there was none. There was no handle on the door, no deadbolt, just a buzzer on the wall next to it with a small sign that read 'Drivers ring bell for assistance'.
Michonne and Rosita took out the three walkers that drew near while Rick turned away from the door and said, "We're not getting' in this way. There's gotta be a main entrance somewhere else. Daryl and I'll have a walk around."
Abraham took down two more walkers that had come around the side of the warehouse with the butt of his gun, and stepped out past the corner to scan for another door but froze in his tracks.
The expanse of parking area before him was filled with walkers. Some of them had already spotted his movements, and were now leading the rest of them in a steady migration across the lot, spurred on by the prospect of fresh food. He turned and jogged back to the group. "I would not advise that. We got company, the dead kind. And lots of them. Everybody back on the bus!"
Beth and Daryl brought up the rear as everyone ran back and got on board again, but by the time she had swung the door shut and he started the engine more walkers had filed out from the other side of the warehouse. The undead were drawn to the sides of the bus, and the numbers blocking their escape route were roughly a hundred strong and increasing. Beth sat on the steps and braced her feet against the doors to keep them from being pushed open.
Dozens of rotting hands slapped against the metal underneath the bus windows as walkers pressed against it, rocking it from side to side on its shocks. Judith started to cry, and Daryl shut off the engine, turning in his seat to look at the small space at the very back that would be their only escape from the trap they had found themselves in.
He caught Rick's gaze, and the other man nodded, shouting orders at the rest of them as he strode back the aisle. He stepped up onto the backs of the last seats and pulled himself up onto the loading dock easily, reaching his hands down for Judith.
Each person climbed up with the help of others, with Eugene and Tyreese being the only ones that struggled to fit their upper bodies through the opening. Tara passed Buddy up and he ran off into the darkness of the warehouse as she was lifted next, leaving just Beth and Daryl on the bus. He stood behind her and leaned his hands against the folding doors, looking down at her. "Go, Beth. I got this."
She shook her head and straightened her legs, pressing harder against the doors as more faces pushed in on the outside of the plexiglass, trying to get in at them. "Can't. If I move my feet they'll come in. You go first and be ready to pull me up."
Daryl leaned more of his weight on the top half, growling his words at her, "Uh uh. No way, Greene. I ain't leavin' you here while I save my own ass."
"Daryl, listen to me." Beth had to raise her voice. The sounds the walkers were making outside was becoming deafening now. "You saw Eugene and Ty almost get stuck. If you're the last one out of here and have walkers behind you, you're not gonna have time to mess around squeezing through. I'm skinnier than you."
She gritted her teeth, feeling the muscles in her legs start to tremble with the effort it took to push back on the door. "You go now. I can keep the door shut for a few extra seconds after I get to my feet and make a run for it, and you'll be able to pull me up really quick."
She looked up at him, fighting to hide the fear she felt. "Just be ready for me, okay?"
He looked down into her eyes, snorting a breath out through his nose in frustration at her reasoning. "You best haul ass, girl. I'll be waitin' on ya."
She swallowed thickly and nodded, and Daryl turned to run toward the back of the bus as she focused her attention back on keeping her legs straight just a few seconds longer. Out of the corner of her eye Beth saw him throw his crossbow up, and sure enough, a moment later came the sounds of him awkwardly climbing up onto the loading dock. The handle of his knife kept catching on the bus' door frame. Finally, his upper body was through, and he was pulled up quickly.
Once Daryl got to his feet she could see his boots braced directly in front of the open space, and his hands were hanging down between them, ready for her. He yelled out, "NOW, Beth!"
She looked down at her legs and exhaled shakily. They were dead tired, and she didn't know how fast she'd be moving once the walkers inevitably started pouring in. Beth closed her eyes for a split second to get her focus and opened them again, directing every ounce of her will into applying enough force against the whole door, without breaking it, as she grabbed the metal railing to help herself up. She pulled her feet back away from where they had been planted for the last few minutes and slowly got to her feet, never taking her eyes off the only barrier separating her from the undead. Beth knew as soon as she turned to run it would break her concentration and the walkers would be inside.
Daryl yelled her name again, and she took a deep breath, backing up the aisle a few steps, dreading what came next. The thought of being grabbed from behind and torn apart before she could get to safety almost paralyzed her with fear. "I'm comin'!"
Now or never, she thought, and turned to take her first step toward Daryl but the toe of her right boot caught on one of the metal seat legs and she lost her balance, falling forward in the aisle and landing hard on her side. The whole bus trembled as the doors swung in violently, and the first walkers started scrambling up the steps in a frenzy, seeking the prey that they knew was inside.
A new shot of adrenaline flooded Beth's veins, and her eyes widened as she heard the flurry of movement behind her. She hustled to her feet and ran full tilt toward the hands waiting for her at the back of the bus, grabbing them and feeling her feet rise off the floor as Daryl pulled her up toward him.
He almost had her clear of the bus when a gnarled hand latched onto the ankle of her left boot. The walker snarled up at them, reaching out with its other hand and trying to gain purchase on her other leg. Beth cried out and kicked back at it blindly, feeling more hands from her family grabbing onto her upper body and pulling her back to safety. The walker lost its grip on her and she tumbled forward into Daryl's arms, shaking from the close call.
The bus was filling up with more of the undead, and a handful of them stood in the back door snapping their blackened teeth, fingers grasping upward but unable to reach anything.
Rick walked over to the side chain and unwrapped it, letting the door roll down with a thud, plunging them into near darkness.
If you haven't guessed it by now, I've worked for a large grocery store chain for nearly half my life. I suppose you write what you know. Anyway, I went on a tour of one of our Loblaw DCs once and I've thought a few times that if the world ever ended and you were lucky enough to find yourself in one of those warehouses that you'd be set. They are simply massive.
Please let me know what you thought of the chapter! :)